Strong leadership to face new challenges
Public health threats continue to develop across Europe and beyond. A great deal of attention has been given to the ongoing Ebola epidemic affecting West Africa, while within Europe, threats posed by, among other things, antibiotic resistance, HIV and influenza continue to affect our society. ECDC looks forward to continuing its work over the coming year in supporting the European Commission and Member States prepare for and respond effectively to each and every public health threat.
In order to continue in its mission to provide the strongest service to Member States, ECDC in recent weeks welcomed the new European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis. During his visit, current public health threats facing Europe and the role ECDC plays in supporting Member States were discussed.
The chair and vice-chair of the ECDC Management Board have recently been re-elected. Chair Dr Francoise Weber (France) and vice-chair Dr Tiiu Aro (Estonia) have demonstrated strong leadership skills and provided ECDC with an important sense of direction over the past two years. Director Marc Sprenger looks forward to continuing this strong working relationship over the coming years.
The recently published external evaluation of ECDC’s activities demonstrates that the Centre is seen across Europe as adding value for Member States, providing outputs that are appreciated by professional communities. ECDC will work over the coming years to make further improvements to the service it provides, and help ensure that all Member States are in the best position possible to prepare for and respond to any and all public health concerns. The 2015 Annual Work Programme provides details of the specific aims for the year ahead; collaboration and cooperation with other EU institutions and Member States will be central to all aspects of the Centre’s work for the coming year.
